Netanyahu’s defence …

Yesterday Netanyahu made his case before the cameras of the world for the keeping up the bombing and shelling of Gaza. For the Israeli PM it does not matter that civilians are being killed. He made his statement by constantly referring to the word “defence”. But there is no such thing as defence against civilians.

The exception of course is Palestine. Civilians in Palestine are seen as a threat to Israel and its army because the Palestinians have a legitimate claim to their land, the land of Palestine. For Israel there could be no greater threat.

The threat then requires the “removal” of Palestinians as it did in 1948. For Netanyahu the task of 2014 is the task of 1948. It is Palestinian refugees.

Palestinians do not need to bear arms for to be a threat to Israel. Though the method by which Palestinians fight back is their decision. They have the right. For Israel however none of this makes the slightest difference. Palestinians are all the same. Palestinians simply need to be present in the world for to be a threat. It follows then that the military task is one of the physical removal of the whole Palestinian population. But this is not going to happen. Palestinians are not moving on. The Egyptian President, Sisi knows the name of the game and he wants to keep the Rafah border closed. He wants to make sure there is not an overflow of Palestinians into Egypt. But again, that is not going to happen.

Though unstated, the situation is grasped by most in the Middle East. It is said in international relations that the Palestinians always punch above their weight; they do so because they test international humanitarian laws. There will be no real defence of humanitarian law until the international community stands up to Israel. Slowly but surely that is starting …